Finfet based zram with convex channel region

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide improved methods and structures for fabrication of capacitor-less DRAM devices, sometimes referred to as ZRAM devices. A channel is formed in a fin-type field effect transistor (finFET) that is comprised of a finned channel portion and a convex channel portion. The finned channel portion may be comprised of a first semiconductor material and the convex channel portion may be comprised of a second, different semiconductor material. In embodiments, a metal gate is disposed around the elongated surface of the channel region, but is not disposed on the short surface of the channel region. A first spacer is disposed adjacent to the gate and in direct physical contact with the short surface of the channel region, and a second spacer is disposed adjacent to the first spacer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor fabrication,and more particularly, to fabrication of ZRAM devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is utilized in many electronicdevices. These include computers, mobile devices, tablets, and consumerelectronics, to name a few. A continuous goal is increasing of thecircuit density, thus increasing the amount of memory in a physicalpackage. This enables increasingly powerful computing power in smaller,more portable devices. Zero capacitance random access memory (ZRAM) is atype of DRAM memory based on the floating body effect. In ZRAM, thefloating body effect allows the memory cell to be built without adding aseparate capacitor, as the floating body effect takes the place of theconventional capacitor. However, there are various fabricationchallenges to making ZRAM devices in a reliable, and cost effectivemanner. It is therefore desirable to have improved structures andmethods for implementation of ZRAM devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide asemiconductor structure, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; asemiconductor fin disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a channelregion comprising: a finned channel portion; and a convex channelportion disposed around the finned channel portion, wherein the channelregion comprises an elongated surface and a short surface; a metal gatedisposed around the elongated surface of the channel region; a firstspacer disposed adjacent to the metal gate and in direct physicalcontact with the short surface of the channel region; and a secondspacer disposed adjacent to the first spacer.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide asemiconductor structure, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; asemiconductor fin disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a channelregion comprising: a finned channel portion; and a convex channelportion disposed around the finned channel portion, wherein the channelregion comprises an elongated surface and a short surface; a metal gatedisposed around the elongated surface of the channel region and theshort surface of the channel region; and a spacer disposed adjacent tothe metal gate.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a methodof forming a semiconductor structure, comprising: forming asemiconductor fin on a semiconductor substrate; forming a sacrificialgate structure; forming a first spacer adjacent to the sacrificial gatestructure; forming a second spacer adjacent to the first spacer; formingsource/drain regions adjacent to the second spacer; removing thesacrificial gate structure; forming a convex channel region; and forminga metal gate structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure, operation, and advantages of the present invention willbecome further apparent upon consideration of the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying figures (FIGs.). The figuresare intended to be illustrative, not limiting.

Certain elements in some of the figures may be omitted, or illustratednot-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. The cross-sectional views may bein the form of “slices”, or “near-sighted” cross-sectional views,omitting certain background lines which would otherwise be visible in a“true” cross-sectional view, for illustrative clarity.

Often, similar elements may be referred to by similar numbers in variousfigures (FIGs) of the drawing, in which case typically the last twosignificant digits may be the same, the most significant digit being thenumber of the drawing figure (FIG). Furthermore, for clarity, somereference numbers may be omitted in certain drawings.

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 1B shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows an X-Y cross section of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 shows a Y-Z cross section of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 shows an X-Z cross section of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 shows an X-Y cross section of an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 shows an X-Z cross section of an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 shows an X-Y cross section of an embodiment at an intermediatefabrication step with dummy gates.

FIG. 8A shows an X-Y cross section of an embodiment after a subsequentfabrication step of dummy gate removal.

FIG. 8B shows an X-Y cross section of an embodiment after a subsequentfabrication step of forming the convex channel region.

FIG. 9 shows an X-Y cross section of an embodiment after a subsequentfabrication step of first spacer removal.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart indicating process steps for embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide improved methods andstructures for fabrication of capacitor-less DRAM devices. Such devices,sometimes referred to as ZRAM devices, implement a dynamic random accessmemory without the use of a capacitor in each storage cell. A channel isformed in a fin-type field effect transistor (finFET) that is comprisedof a finned channel portion and a convex channel portion. The finnedchannel portion may be comprised of a first semiconductor material andthe convex channel portion may be comprised of a second, differentsemiconductor material. In embodiments, a metal gate is disposed aroundthe elongated surface of the channel region, but is not disposed on theshort surface of the channel region. A first spacer is disposed adjacentto the gate and in direct physical contact with the short surface of thechannel region, and a second spacer is disposed adjacent to the firstspacer. This arrangement can provide a structure that is compatible withreplacement metal gate processes to enable increased flexibility indesign and manufacture of ZRAM devices.

FIG. 1A shows a perspective view of a semiconductor structure 100 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Semiconductorstructure 100 comprises semiconductor substrate 102. Substrate 102 maycomprise a bulk substrate such as a silicon wafer. A local trenchisolation (LTI) insulator layer 106 is disposed on the substrate 102. Asemiconductor fin 104 extends from the substrate 102. A metal gate 108is formed over the fin 104. Spacers 110 are formed on each side of gate108. While only one set of spacers is shown in this drawing, otherembodiments may have additional spacers, as is shown in other drawings.

FIG. 1B shows a perspective view of a semiconductor structure 101 inaccordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.Semiconductor structure 101 is similar to semiconductor structure 100 ofFIG. 1B, except that semiconductor structure 101 comprises local trenchisolation (LTI) insulator layer 107 that is disposed on the substrate102, and serves to electrically isolate fin 104 from substrate 102,whereas fin 104 of semiconductor structure 100 in FIG. 1A protrudesthrough insulator layer 106. In embodiments, the electrical isolation offin 104 starts with a structure such as shown in FIG. 1A. Then, a finoxidation (FOX) process oxidizes a lower portion of fin 104, effectivelyconverting it to oxide (e.g. silicon oxide). This can provide advantagesof semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) structures, with the reduced cost ofa bulk structure. In embodiments, the FOX process includes a thermaloxidation process. In addition to the local fin oxidation as shown inFIG. 1B, embodiments of the present invention may also utilize aconventional semiconductor-on-insulator structure. FIG. 1A and FIG. 1Bare intended to provide reference in the X, Y, and Z planes for thefigures that follow. Legend 117 indicates the X axis, Y axis, and Z axisfor these figures. Various details of the convex channel are not visiblein FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B, as it is covered by the gate and spacers.Subsequent figures show various “slices” and cross sections toillustrate features of the various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an X-Y cross section of a structure 200 in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention, as viewed along line A-A′ ofFIG. 1B. Structure 200 includes a channel region 231 which includesfinned channel portion 236 and a convex channel portion 234. The channelregion 231 comprises an elongated surface 237 and a short surface 239.The convex channel portion 234 is disposed around the finned channelportion 236. A gate 224 is formed around the elongated surface 237 ofthe channel region 231. Disposed between the gate 224 and channel region231 is a gate dielectric layer 230. Additionally, an oxide interlayer232 may be disposed between the gate dielectric layer 230 and thechannel region 231.

The channel region 231 is a so-called convex channel because it is widerthan the fin. In embodiments, the convex channel portion 234 iscomprised of silicon germanium (SiGe), and the finned channel portion236 is comprised of silicon (which does not include germanium). Inembodiments, the germanium concentration of the SiGe that comprises theconvex channel portion 234 ranges from about 20 percent to about 40percent, by atomic weight. In other embodiments, the convex channelportion 234 comprises indium phosphide (InP), and the finned channelportion 236 is comprised of silicon or silicon germanium. In otherembodiments, the convex channel portion 234 comprises silicon (whichdoes not include germanium), and the finned channel portion 236comprises indium. In some embodiments, the finned channel portion 236may include, but is not limited to, indium phosphide (InP), indiumarsenide (InAs), and/or indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs). In otherembodiments, the convex channel portion 234 comprises silicon and alsoincludes germanium (SiGe).

A first spacer 228 is disposed adjacent to the gate 224 and in directphysical contact with the short surface 239 of the channel region 231.Thus, the gate 224 is disposed only along the elongated side of thechannel region 231, and the gate does not cover the short surface 239 ofthe channel region 231. In embodiments, the first spacer 228 mayinclude, but is not limited to, hafnium oxide, titanium oxide, and/orzirconium oxide. The first spacer 228 is preferably a High-K (K>4)material. A second spacer is disposed adjacent to the first spacer. Inembodiments, the second spacer is comprised of silicon oxide. Disposedadjacent to the second spacer 226 is source/drain regions 220. Thesource/drain regions 220 may comprise an epitaxially grown semiconductormaterial such as epitaxial silicon or epitaxial silicon germanium. Dopedextension regions 238 may extend into the channel region 231.

FIG. 3 shows a Y-Z cross section of a semiconductor structure 300 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed alongline B-B′ of FIG. 1B. As stated previously, similar elements may bereferred to by similar numbers in various figures (FIGs) of the drawing,in which case typically the last two significant digits may be the same.For example, gate 324 of FIG. 3 is similar to gate 224 of FIG. 2. Inthis figure, the finned channel portion 336 is isolated from substrate302 by insulation layer 307, which may be formed by a fin oxidation(FOX) process. The convex channel portion 334 is disposed around thefinned channel portion 336. An oxide interlayer 332 is disposed aroundthe convex channel portion 334. A gate dielectric layer 330 is disposedaround the oxide interlayer 332. In embodiments, the gate dielectriclayer 330 is comprised of hafnium oxide, titanium dioxide, and/orzirconium oxide. Gate 324 is disposed on gate dielectric layer 330.

FIG. 4 shows an X-Z cross section of a semiconductor structure 400 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed alongline C-C′ of FIG. 1B. As shown in this view, insulation layer 407 islocalized, and disposed under finned channel portion 436. In otherembodiments (not shown) a standard semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI)structure may be used, in which case the insulation layer is throughoutthe device. In this view, it can again be seen that first spacer 428 isin direct physical contact with convex channel portion 434.

FIG. 5 shows an X-Y cross section of a semiconductor structure 500 inaccordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.Please refer to line A-A′ of FIG. 1B for an orientation reference. Inthis embodiment, there is only one spacer 526, which is the outer spacer(compare with 226 of FIG. 2). The first spacer (228 of FIG. 2) is notpresent in this embodiment. As such, the gate 524, gate dielectric 530and oxide interlayer 532 surround the channel region on both theelongated surface 537 and the short surface 539.

FIG. 6 shows an X-Z cross section of a semiconductor structure 600 inaccordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention.Please refer to line C-C′ of FIG. 1B for an orientation reference. Asshown in this view, insulation layer 607 is localized, and disposedunder finned channel portion 636. In other embodiments (not shown) astandard semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) structure may be used, inwhich case the insulation layer is throughout the device. In this view,it can again be seen that spacer 626 is not in direct physical contactwith convex channel portion 634. Instead, the gate 624, gate dielectric630, and oxide interlayer 632 envelope the convex channel portion 634.

FIG. 7 shows an X-Y cross section of structure 700 in accordance with anembodiment at an intermediate fabrication step with dummy gate 725. Adummy gate oxide 735 may also be deposited prior to deposition of dummy(sacrificial) gate 725. In embodiments, dummy gate 725 is comprised ofpolysilicon. In embodiments, dummy gate oxide 735 is comprised ofsilicon oxide.

FIG. 8A shows an X-Y cross section of structure 800 in accordance withan embodiment at a subsequent fabrication step of dummy gate removal.The dummy gate and dummy gate oxide are removed, forming void 841. FIG.8B shows structure 800 after a subsequent process step of forming theconvex channel 834. In some embodiments, a new metal gate stack, whichmay include gate dielectric layers, work function metals (not shown),and one or more fill metals is formed in void 841, and is thus,self-aligned to the spacers 828. Spacers 828 and spacers 826 arecomprised of different materials to facilitate selective removal, ifdesired. In embodiments, spacers 828 are comprised of a high-Kdielectric layer such as hafnium oxide, titanium oxide, and/or zirconiumoxide, while spacers 826 are comprised of silicon oxide. Thus inembodiments, once the replacement metal gate (RMG) process is completed,structure 800 is then converted to a structure as depicted in structure200 of FIG. 2. Alternatively, a wrap-around replacement metal gateprocess may be used, as is further explained and shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 shows an X-Y cross section of structure 900 in accordance with anembodiment at a subsequent fabrication step of first spacer removal. Thefirst spacers (828 in FIG. 8) are selectively removed. In embodiments, awet etch process is used to remove the first spacers. As a result, void941 is expanded as compared with void 841 in FIG. 8. From this pointforward, a replacement metal gate process may be used, resulting in thewrap-around metal gate 524 (see FIG. 5) which envelopes both theelongated surface 537 and the short surface 539. Methods in accordancewith illustrative embodiments provide the wrap-around gate in aself-aligned process, improving the ease of manufacturing and improvingyield.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart 1000 indicating process steps for embodiments ofthe present invention. In process step 1050, a fin is formed. Inembodiments, a sidewall image transfer (SIT) process may be used to formthe fin. In process step 1052, a dummy gate is formed (see 725 of FIG.7). In process step 1054, first spacers are formed (see 728 of FIG. 7).In process step 1056, second spacers are formed (see 726 of FIG. 7). Inprocess step 1058, source/drain regions are formed (see 720 of FIG. 7).In process step 1060, the dummy (sacrificial) gate is removed (see 800of FIG. 8). In process step 1062, the convex channel region is formed(see 234 of FIG. 2). In process step 1064, optionally, the first spacersare removed (see 900 of FIG. 9). In process step 1066, the metal gate isformed. If the process flow goes from 1062 directly to 1066, theresulting structure appears as shown in FIGS. 2-4. If the process flowuses the alternative path of 1062 to 1064 to 1066, then the resultingstructure appears as shown in FIGS. 5-6, with the wrap-around metalgate.

As can now be appreciated, embodiments of the present invention provideimproved methods and structures for fabricating finFET-based ZRAMdevices comprising convex channels, which are compatible withreplacement metal gate processes. Embodiments may use either an N-typefinFET or a P-type finFET. Some embodiments may comprise one fin permemory cell. Other embodiments may use multiple fins per memory cell.For example, in one embodiment, three fins per memory cell are used.Using multiple fins per memory cell can serve to reduce devicevariability.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to acertain preferred embodiment or embodiments, certain equivalentalterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the artupon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexeddrawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, etc.) theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though notstructurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs thefunction in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of theinvention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention mayhave been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments,such feature may be combined with one or more features of the otherembodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given orparticular application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor structure, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a semiconductor fin disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a channel region comprising: a finned channel portion; and a convex channel portion disposed around the finned channel portion, wherein the channel region comprises an elongated surface and a short surface; a metal gate disposed around the elongated surface of the channel region; a first spacer disposed adjacent to the metal gate and in direct physical contact with the short surface of the channel region; and a second spacer disposed adjacent to the first spacer.
 2. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the finned channel portion is comprised of a different semiconductor material than the convex channel portion.
 3. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein the finned channel portion comprises silicon.
 4. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the convex channel portion comprises germanium.
 5. The semiconductor structure of claim 3, wherein the convex channel portion comprises indium.
 6. The semiconductor structure of claim 2, wherein the convex channel portion comprises silicon.
 7. The semiconductor structure of claim 6, wherein the finned channel portion comprises indium.
 8. The semiconductor structure of claim 6, wherein the finned channel portion comprises gallium.
 9. A semiconductor structure, comprising: a semiconductor substrate; a semiconductor fin disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a channel region comprising: a finned channel portion; and a convex channel portion disposed around the finned channel portion, wherein the channel region comprises an elongated surface and a short surface; a metal gate disposed around the elongated surface of the channel region and the short surface of the channel region; and a spacer disposed adjacent to the metal gate.
 10. The semiconductor structure of claim 9, wherein the finned channel portion is comprised of a different semiconductor material than the convex channel portion.
 11. The semiconductor structure of claim 10, wherein the finned channel portion comprises silicon.
 12. The semiconductor structure of claim 11, wherein the convex channel portion comprises germanium.
 13. The semiconductor structure of claim 11, wherein the convex channel portion comprises indium.
 14. The semiconductor structure of claim 10, wherein the convex channel portion comprises silicon.
 15. The semiconductor structure of claim 14, wherein the finned channel portion comprises indium.
 16. The semiconductor structure of claim 14, wherein the finned channel portion comprises gallium.
 17. A method of forming a semiconductor structure, comprising: forming a semiconductor fin on a semiconductor substrate; forming a sacrificial gate structure; forming a first spacer adjacent to the sacrificial gate structure; forming a second spacer adjacent to the first spacer; forming source/drain regions adjacent to the second spacer; removing the sacrificial gate structure; forming a convex channel region; and forming a metal gate structure.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising removing the first spacer after forming the convex channel region and prior to forming the metal gate structure.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising performing a fin oxidation process.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein forming the first spacer comprises forming hafnium oxide and wherein forming the second spacer comprises forming silicon oxide. 